[February 01, 2010] Public Wireless LANs: Challenges, Opportunities and Strategies explains why 3G wireless network operators need public wireless LANs Tweet (M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Dublin - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/915cf1/public_wireless_la) has announced the addition of the "Public Wireless LANs: Challenges, Opportunities and Strategies" report to their offering. Public wireless LANs will deliver next generation wireless services to mobile users in airports, convention centers, hotels, and other indoor locations, but the road to success for fledgling operators is littered with obstacles. That is one of the conclusions of the new 66-page report, Public Wireless LANs: Challenges, Opportunities and Strategies. "Our research indicates that public wireless LANs are the superior solution for providing next generation wireless services to indoor and campus hot spots," said Peter Rysavy renowned wireless data consultant and principal author of the report. "Public wireless LANs can handle large volumes of data at significantly lower costs, offer a migration path to speeds of 100 megabits per second and higher, and deliver additional capacity with pinpoint accuracy compared to leading 3G technologies," he concluded. "This report explains why 3G wireless network operators need public wireless LANs to serve the most demanding users in the most demanding locations," said Ira Brodsky, President of Datacomm Research. "It also explains why funding, coverage, and roaming are huge challenges confronting independent public wireless LAN operators," he added. Public Wireless LANs: Challenges, Opportunities and Strategies includes sections prioritizing the opportunities for public wireless LANs, analyzing the major technology options (including Ieee 802.11b, Bluetooth, Ieee 802.11a, and HiperLAN/2), and describing the key technical challenges. The report includes a model for calculating the cost of providing a megabyte of data based on different public wireless LAN air interfaces and utilization assumptions. There are also brief profiles of more than 30 operators, manufacturers, and hird-party service providers. Additional conclusions found in Public Wireless LANs: Challenges, Opportunities and Strategies: 1. Wireless LANs (Wlans) are taking off. Public Wlans complement private deployments in businesses, government, schools, and homes. 2. Public Wlan operators must join forces with 3G mobile phone carriers to achieve necessary coverage and service bundling. Likewise, third generation mobile phone operators need public Wlans to offload heavy indoor traffic from their lower speed, wide area networks. 3. Unlike private Wlans, public Wlans require subscription control, roaming agreements, and centralized network management. Roaming is crucial to maximizing coverage. However, the largest public Wlan operators fear roaming agreements will benefit smaller competitors most. 4. There are significant e-commerce opportunities for public Wlan operators, particularly those offering location-dependent, targeted promotions. While the mobile phone industry struggles to implement location technology, the location of a public Wlan user is readily available. 5. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth offer complementary access services, but Wi-Fi is significantly more mature. Bluetooth can provide access in secondary locations, integrated with pay phones, point of sale terminals, and ATMs. Ieee 802.11a offers a migration path to speeds of 54 Mb/s and higher. 6. Public wireless LANs could play a major role in the distribution of multimedia content. Users at airports and on airplanes represent captive audiences for advanced business and entertainment services. Key Topics Covered: INTRODUCTION EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OPPORTUNITIES & THREATS BUSINESS MODELS STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS KEY CONCLUSIONS OVERVIEW REACHING CRITICAL MASS ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES MARKET SEGMENTATION DEGREE OF MOBILITY USER TYPES TYPES OF INSTALLATIONS TECHNOLOGY APPROACHES WIRELESS LAN ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES IEEE 802.11b IEEE 802.11g IEEE 802.11a HiperLAN HomeRF Bluetooth Infrared BACKHAUL CONNECTION INTERNET GATEWAY NETWORK OPERATIONS ROAMING SUPPORT OBSTACLES MAJOR OBSTACLES Deployment Security Roaming RF Interference Management MINOR OBSTACLES Remote Access and VPN Considerations Platform Compatibility Voice Support Roaming Among Heterogeneous Networks Access Complexity DEPLOYMENT CONSIDERATIONS PRIMARY DEPLOYMENT AREAS Airports Hotels Restaurants Educational Environments SECONDARY DEPLOYMENT AREAS Conference Centers Airplanes Shopping Areas Government Buildings Sports Facilities Hospitals Residential and SOHO Fixed Access Entertainment Locations Public Transportation DEPLOYMENT COSTS PRICING AND MARKETING STRATEGIES SERVICE PROVIDER OPPORTUNITIES DEDICATED PWLAN OPERATORS CELLULAR OPERATORS INTERNET ROAMING PROVIDERS INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS COMPUTER VENDORS CABLE PROVIDERS (MULTIPLE SERVICE OPERATORS) ILECS AND CLECS NOT-FOR-PROFIT NETWORKS MAJOR REGIONS OF THE WORLD North America Europe Japan PWLAN OPERATORS AERZONE AIRWAVE CERULIC GET2NET CORP. HEREUARE MOBILESTAR NEPTUNE NETWORKS NOMAD NETWORKS SONERA SURF AND SIP TELENOR MOBILE TELIA SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINES SYSTEM (SAS) SKYLINK INTERNET PLUS TENZING COMMUNICATIONS WAYPORT WIRELESSBOLAGET WNS OY NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS KEY INFRASTRUCTURE VENDORS 3COM AGERE SYSTEMS / ORINOCO CISCO SYSTEMS CLASSWAVE COMMIL GRIC COMMUNICATIONS IBM IPASS NOKIA PICO COMMUNICATIONS PROXIM RADIOFRAME NETWORKS RED-M SYMBOL TECHNOLOGIES TADLYS WIDCOMM TABLES/FIGURES TABLE 1: PROS AND CONS OF PWLAN OPERATORS REMAINING INDEPENDENT TABLE 2: PROS AND CONS OF PWLAN OPERATORS TEAMING UP WITH CELLULAR/PCS OPERATORS TABLE 3: FEATURES OF PWLAN VERSUS CELLULAR DATA TABLE 4: KEY DRIVERS AND INHIBITORS FOR PWLANS. FIGURE 1: ELEMENTS OF A PWLAN TABLE 5: SUMMARY OF COVERAGE AREAS AND THEIR ATTRIBUTES TABLE 6: COST TO DELIVER 1 MEGABYTE OF DATA OVER PUBLIC WIRELESS LANS (FOR 802.11B, BLUETOOTH, AND 802.11A AIR INTERFACES) (AT 1%, 2, 4%, AND 8% UTILIZATION) FIGURE 2: SUCCESS FACTORS FOR PWLAN OPERATORS For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/915cf1/public_wireless_la ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) (c) 2010 M2 COMMUNICATIONS [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]